Mackey nodded and turned his shoulder to me. Smoked like it was fuel and he was going to get every last inch to the gallon.
I leaned against the wall, not too near. Tilted my face up to the sky, just chilling.
Said, ‘I’m dying to ask, man. How’d you pick out St Kilda’s?’
‘You figured I’d have Holly down the local community school?’
‘Something like that, yeah.’
‘The tennis court wasn’t up to my standards.’
Narrowing his eyes against the smoke. Only one corner of his mind was on me.
‘This place, but? When I saw it…’ I blew out a half-laugh. ‘Fuck me.’
‘It’s something, all right. You didn’t think I appreciated fine architecture?’
‘Just didn’t think it would be your scene. Rich kids. Holly living somewhere else most of the week.’
I waited. Nothing, just the rise and fall of his cigarette. I said, ‘You wanted to get Holly away from home, yeah? Too much teen drama? Or you didn’t like her mates?’
One corner of Mackey’s mind was more than enough. Wolf-curl to his mouth, slow click of his tongue. ‘Stephen, Stephen, Stephen. Here you were doing so well. All the working-man-to-working-man stuff, I was really feeling that. And then you went and got impatient, and you went straight back into cop mode. Is your daughter a problem teen, sir? Does your daughter have any undesirable associates, sir? Did you ever see any sign that your daughter was shaping up to be a cold-blooded killer, sir? And just like that, the nice little bond we were building up: gone. Rookie mistake, sunshine. You need to practise your patience.’
He lounged against the column, grinning at me, waiting to see what I’d come out with next. His eyes had turned alive; I had his attention now.
I said, ‘The school I can see, just about. Maybe Holly’s ma went here, or maybe your local community school’s a kip, Holly was getting bullied or offered drugs – most people’s principles go out the window when it’s their kid on the line. But boarding? Nah. I don’t see it.’
‘Always fuck with people’s expectations, sunshine. It’s good for their circulation.’
‘Last time we worked together, you and Holly’s ma were split up. Had been for a while, far as I could tell. You’ve already missed out on years of Holly, and now you send her off to boarding school so you can miss even more? It doesn’t fit.’
Mackey pointed his smoke at me. ‘That was cute, kid. “Last time we worked together”; like we’re working together now. I like that.’
‘You and Holly’s ma are back together, that’s your chance at being a family again. You wouldn’t miss out on that unless there was a good reason. Either Holly was acting up and you needed her somewhere strict to straighten her out, or she was getting into bad company and you wanted her well away from that.’
He was nodding away, doing a thinking face. ‘Not bad. It plays. Or maybe, just maybe, my wife and I felt we needed some time by ourselves to reconnect, after that whole nasty separation thing. Rekindle the romance.
I said, ‘You worship the bones of that girl. You’ve never wanted less time with her in her life.’
‘My attitude to family is a little quirky, kid. I assumed you’d gathered that, last time we
I said, ‘If Holly was getting into trouble at home, we’ll find out.’
‘Good boy. I’d expect no less.’
‘I’m asking you to save us the time and hassle.’
‘No problem. The biggest trouble Holly ever got into was getting grounded for not tidying her room. Hope that helps.’
We’d be checking. Mackey knew it. ‘Thanks,’ I said. Nodded.
He was going in. I said, before his hand reached the door handle, ‘I’d still love to know. The boarding, man. Why? It doesn’t come cheap. Someone wanted it pretty bad.’
Him watching me, amused, the way he used to seven years back, big dog watching feisty puppy. Seven years is a long time.
‘I know it’s nothing to do with our case, but it’s going to keep at me. So I’m asking.’
Mackey said, ‘Out of curiosity. Man to man.’
‘Yeah.’
‘Bollix. You’re asking detective to suspect’s father.’
Unblinking, daring me to deny it:
Mackey examined me. Did some kind of maths behind his eyes.
He found his smokes again. Flipped one into the side of his mouth.
‘Let me ask you this,’ he said, through it. Cupped his hand around the flame. ‘Just offhand, how much time would you guess Holly spends with my side of the family?’
‘Not a lot.’
‘Good guess. She sees one of my sisters a couple of times a year. On Olivia’s side there’s a pair of Christmastime cousins, and there’s Olivia’s ma, who buys Holly designer shite and takes her to poncy restaurants. And, since Olivia and I were split up or splitting for most of the relevant time-frame, Holly’s an only child.’
